Mac had returned to the house after feeding and
watering his rabbits and headed to the kitchen
to check back on Cornelius and Kato. Cornelius
was lapping out of his large silver metal water bowl
as Kato strutted over to his own waterbowl. Mac
knew he would have to take Cornelius out so as
to have his 'nature call.' When Cornelius stopped
drinking Mac walked over and took Cornelius by
his silver-studded black leather collar and lead him
out the back door in the kitchen and to his chain
that was connected to his doghouse. Mac then
patted the dog on the head and said to him, "Okay
big boy, do your thing." Mac then went back inside
and sat down at the kitchen table and chilled for
a bit. As he sat, he began to think back on events
of recent. The thoughts actually came about after
Karen had phoned him. He began to reminisce
about the time he and Karen came across each
other when he was visiting the burial site of his
parents. It turned out that Karen was also there
visiting the burial site of her older brother.
It was the meeting at Peaceful View Cemetery
that the relationship between Mac and Karen
began to go a step further.
He recalled the moment when he was getting
ready to leave the burial site where his parents
were laid to rest and discovered that Karen had
been standing near him the whole time. He had
definitely not been expecting company and it
wasn't as if Karen had been tailing him. Mac
knew when he suddenly saw Karen standing
there that this was a chance meeting. Karen
just so happened to be visiting the burial site
of a deceased family member, too. Mac
thought that she may have caught sight of him
as she was leaving the cemetery and decided
to come over and say hi.
He began to recall how Karen had offered to
share her umbrella as the rain began to increase
and their conversation of her brother's death and
the date on which her brother, his parents, and
what could have been the date of her father's
death had Mac not intervened; August 25th.
Mac then realized the next step in the
relationship when after he and Karen left the
cemetery and headed to the Country Skillet
which Mac realized was an unexpected though
much welcomed, dinner date. And their first
date together, period. It was there the
relationship began to take off.
Mac was snapped out of his thoughts by
Cornelius' barking which meant he was
ready to come back in. Mac then thought
as he headed out to bring the dog back in,
August the Twenty-Fifth was a date to
remember.
As Karen Williams lay on her bed she began
to think about the time she happened to see
Mac at Peaceful View Cemetery as she was
leaving the burial site where her older brother
lay. Mac's here, too, she had thought when
she saw him standing over a monument which
she soon found out was of Mac's adoptive
parents.
Karen turned over and lay on her front and
cupped her chin in both hands and thought
about the chance meeting she had with Mac.
Seeing him there had brought her comfort
as she had had a brief emotional moment as
she was turning to leave her brother's grave.
As she had walked away she had brought
her hand to her face and began to sob softly.
As she slowly let her hand back down she
saw out of the corner of her eye a figure
standing maybe sixty feet away to her right.
She turned to glance at the man standing
over the mound and for some reason had
decided to move in for a closer look. She
thought she recognized the full head of
brown hair when the rain began to increase
which caused the man to put the hood of
the sweatshirt he was wearing over his head,
which now hid any recognition of him.
That had only made Karen move closer to
the man and at the same time forgetting
why she was doing it.
Karen had suddenly thought to herself, Oh
well, if this isn't who I think it is, I'll just say,
'I'm sorry, I thought you were someone I knew.'
But as Karen finally reached the site where the
man stood, he began to turn in her direction to
leave and then Karen and the man stood face
to face! Karen thought excitedly, I was right!
It is Mac!
Though Karen could tell Mac was glad to see
her she could tell he also looked a bit grieved,
much like she was some moments before.
Karen then thought of the conversation they had
while sharing her umbrella with Mac and as they
both made their way through the pouring rain and
out of the cemetery, Mac invited Karen to have
dinner and that she had insisted they go as they were.
Mac had shown no objection to the idea as Karen's
parents were out on a dinner date of their own and
Mac had not eaten yet either. Karen thought back
on this and realized that that day was their first date
together. It was so casual yet so unforgettable that
she couldn't get that day, let alone Mac, out of her
mind. The way things went that day that happened
to cause Karen and Mac to meet had to have
happened for a reason. Karen then rolled off her
bed and began praying once again., this time for
her and Mac:
"Lord, I can't help but think that the chance
meeting and my dad's accident was to bring
Mac and I together. I never really felt this
strongly toward anyone before. I believe it
was heading this way all along but I feel that
the meeting that Mac and I had at the cemetery
confirmed it. I mean Lord, I like him, I like him
a lot. And I have no doubt he likes me. I can't
get him out of my mind, but Lord I am turning
our relationship over to you and ask that you
give both Mac and I wisdom and guidance if
you decide to allow us to continue in this
relationship. I ask this of You in the name of
Jesus, Amen!"
Mac brought Cornelius back into the house and
then retreated to the living room to read the Bible
before heading to bed. Kato strolled in, hopped
into Mac's lap and settled there with Cornelius
following and settling in his place next to Mac's
chair. Mac thought, animals are such good
company. But Mac then thought about the
relationship between he and Karen and the
meeting at the cemetery and the recent dinner
invitation he attended at the home of Karen
and her parents. Mac looked up and thought
aloud, "Lord, is Karen the one?"
Mac had been skeptical of relationships since
the suicidal death of his wife years ago. His
marriage had been somewhat rocky even
before her death and it was his firefighting
accident and death of his firefighting career
that seemed to sound the death knell of their
marriage. But everything that happened to
lead Mac and Karen's relationship to what
it has now become had to have happened
for a reason. He really liked Karen, he had
no doubts there, but the question tormented
him, Was she the one?
Mac, looking down and seeing Kato on his lap,
decided to pray just as he was seeing he looked
so comfortable sleeping on his lap. Mac bowed
his head and prayed:
"Lord, is Karen really the gal you want me to
be with? The way things have happened these
past few months have me believing that she is.
I mean, I really like this young lady, I really do.
She's made it clear that she likes me even though
she hasn't said it in words. Lord, I am asking that
you give both Karen and I wisdom and guidance
if it be your will to let our relationship continue.
Not my will nor Karen's, but Your will be done in
Jesus' name, Amen."
This concludes Chapter Seventeen.
